Plan your trip on the Bittern Line Norwich-Sheringham
A leisurely train journey from Norwich to the Norfolk coast through the Broads National Park
Running from Norwich to Sheringham, the Bittern Line takes you from historic Norwich, through the Broads National Park, and ends on the north Norfolk coast at Sheringham via Cromer.
Visit the Bittern Line website.
Tombland Alley, Norwich
Norwich
Norwich is the county capital of Norfolk, the best-preserved medieval city in the country, with cobbled streets, historic churches, Norman castle and cathedral, and the biggest permanent covered market in northern Europe.
Norwich is a great city for the arts – take in a show at Norwich Theatre Royal, Maddermarket or The Playhouse.
As well as the Norwich Castle Museum and Art Gallery, discover the city’s history at Stranger’s Hall, Museum of Norwich at The Bridewell and American Library.
There’s great independent shopping in The Lanes, as well as High Street names in Chantry Place.
Take a tour of the city with Paul Dickson.
Looking for something a little left field? Try Go Quest Adventures or City Greens Golf.
Outside the city centre, nature lovers will enjoy NWT Sweet Briars and culture lovers will enjoy the Sainsbury Centre at the University of East Anglia. And Eaton Park is a popular outdoor space in the city, with its own Crazy Golf and Putting Course.
Where to stay: The Georgian Townhouse, The Assembly House, Maids Head Hotel.
Relaxing in the Broads National Park
Salhouse
Salhouse is a great stop off for Salhouse Broad, which has tented off-grid camping and canoe and kayak hire. There are seasonal nature-based events and dogs are welcome.
Nearby, visit Woodforde’s Brewery for a tour and have lunch at the brewery tap, The Fur and Feather. Norfolk Wildlife Trust Ranworth Broad is worth a visit too.
Boats on the River Bure at Wroxham
Hoveton and Wroxham
Hoveton and Wroxham are the capital of the Broads National Park. For context, Hoveton is north of the bridge over the River Bure and Wroxham south.
Barnes Brinkcraft offer accommodation on land as well as day boats and cruisers for longer breaks. For history buffs, try Wherry Yacht Charter – wherries were the shallow draft sailing boats that were the HGVs of their day. The Canoe Man is another great way to get on the water.
Places to visit include Wroxham Miniature World, BeWILDerwood, Wroxham Barns and Hoveton Hall Gardens. Or take a different train, a steam one, on the Bure Valley Railway to Aylsham.
Where to stay: The Norfolk Mead Hotel and Spa.
Worstead
The small Broads village of Worstead (from Old English Wurðestede, meaning ‘enclosure place’) gave us Worsted cloth, a high-quality wool yarn popular in medieval times, particularly after weavers from Flanders moved to Norfolk. Worstead, with North Walsham and Aylsham, formed a manufacturing centre for yarn and cloth in the 12th century.
St Mary's Church at Worstead was built by local weavers in the fourteenth-century.
Bure Valley Railway between Aylsham and Wroxham
North Walsham
The historic market town of North Walsham has the largest Wool Church in Norfolk. St Nicholas Church at North Walsham is a fine example of a Wool Church, funded by wealth from the textile industry.
England’s most famous sailor, Horatio Nelson, was a pupil at Paston Grammar School in North Walsham from 1768 to 1771, after which he went to sea to begin his illustrious career.
This is a good stopping off point to discover Norfolk’s Deep History Coast at Happisburgh, where the oldest human footprints outside the Rift Valley in Africa were found in 2013. The British Museum believe them to be almost a million years old.
If you’re staying, check out the Beechwood Hotel.
Where to find Nelson in Norfolk
Gunton
There is no community called Gunton, but the station serves the villages of Thorpe Market and Southrepps. Gunton is a good stopping off point for Blickling Hall.
Roughton Road
Roughton Road rail station serves the village of Roughton, made famous in September 1933 when local landowner Commander Oliver Locker-Lampson MP smuggled Albert Einstein out of Europe, away from the clutches of Germany’s Nazis who had put a bounty on his head, and hid the world’s most famous scientist in a small wooden hut on Roughton Heath for a month where he was guarded by Locker-Lampson’s secretaries Marjory Howard and Barbara Goodall, armed with shotguns. Albert Einstein set sail to the United States from Southampton in October 1933.
A blue plaque commemorating Albert Einstein's stay can be found at the entrance of the New Inn public house in Roughton.
Roughton means ‘rough settlement’ and St Mary's Church is one of 124 existing round-tower churches in Norfolk.
Cromer
Cromer
The traditional seaside town of Cromer on the north Norfolk coast is most famous for having the last end-of-pier theatre in the world, the Pavilion Theatre, which has shows throughout the year. Enjoy fish and chips on the promenade or the fine sandy beach.
Learn more about the town’s history and Deep History Coast at Cromer Museum. If wild animals are your thing, try Amazona. Just outside the town is National Trust Felbrigg Hall.
Cromer is also well known for its eponymous Cromer crab which feed on the world’s largest chalk reef, just offshore.
Where to stay: Good accommodation in Cromer includes The Grove Hotel and Grove Glamping, Virginia Court Hotel, Cromer Country Club, The Cliftonville and Crab Pot Cottages.
Mammoth bones were found in the cliffs at West Runton
West Runton
West Runton is a small coastal village on the north Norfolk coast between Cromer and Sheringham.
Head down to the beach here for the best rock pooling and fossil hunting in Norfolk and also to see where the West Runton Mammoth was found in 1990. Excavations over two years revealed the largest and best-preserved mammoth skeleton ever found. The mammoth, around 650,000 years old, was eaten by hyaenas.
Go inland to West Runton and Beeston Regis Heath and you will be on the Cromer Ridge, the highest point of Norfolk and the result of an Ice Age terminal moraine. At Roman Camp, also known as Beacon Hill, you will enjoy the highest sea views in the East of England.
Where to stay: Homefield Guest House, The Links Country Park Hotel, Woodhill Park.
Beeston Bump to Sheringham
Sheringham
The final stop on the Bittern Line is Sheringham, a lovely seaside town with charming Sheringham Little Theatre and the North Norfolk Railway, whose steam train service can take you along the coast to Kelling Heath and on to Georgian market town Holt.
On the beach you can learn to stand up paddleboard and also take a snorkelling line to see the chalk reef.
Head up to Beeston Bump for great views over Sheringham and the coast and to see the remains of a second world war Y station, part of a network of signals intelligence sites used to intercept Nazi radio communications. Local folklore says the devil dog Black Shuck lives at the bottom of Beeton Bump.
Just outside the town is National Trust Sheringham Park which has a viewing tower for stunning views down the coast to Blakeney Point, home of UK’s largest seal colony.
Where to stay: The Two Lifeboats, Dales Country House Hotel, Hilltop Outdoor Centre accommodation, Kelling Heath Holiday Park.
Frequently asked questions
- What is the Bittern Line
The Bittern Line is a branch line between Norwich and the seaside at Cromer and Sheringham.
- What stops are on the Bittern Line
The Bittern Line starts at Norwich and then heads through the Broads National Park to the north Norfolk coast. There are stops at Salhouse, Hoveton and Wroxham, Worstead, North Walsham, Gunton, Roughton Road, Cromer, West Runton and Sheringham.
- How do I take the Bittern Line
The Bittern Line begins at Norwich, on the Inter City line from London Liverpool Street.
- Why should I take the Bittern Line
A great reason to take the Bittern Line is to get to the north Norfolk coast and in to the centre of the Broads National Park by sustainable rail travel.
- What things are there to do in Cromer
Cromer is a traditional Victorian seaside town, with the world’s last end-of-pier theatre, sandy beaches and home to the eponymous Cromer crab.
- How can I take the North Norfolk Railway
Take the North Norfolk Railway at Sheringham for a journey along the Norfolk coast and through lovely countryside to Kelling Heath to Georgian market town Holt.
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